Armor
by TheThotAudit
Summary: Tsubaki needed a new set of armor, one suited for a slightly different type of battle.


**Taken from chapter 31 of Goblin Slayer with a few minor changes and add-ons. Credit to the original creator Kumo Kagyu. A special thank you to Wild Blue Sonder and Mugen7 for their willingness to look my work over. Happy July 4th!**

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It was underwear. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say the armor resembled underwear. Categorically speaking it would be considered light armor; the set included a chest plate, gloves, and tasset. The armor was beautifully curved, elaborate, and solid. Tsubaki's problem was that it covered almost no surface area. There were spaulders, of course, but that wasn't much the issue. No defense against a stab in the back that could easily be critical, and an attack on the abdomen and its wearer would be sunning themselves. It was basically breast armor and, for lack of a better word, panties. In terms of mobility, it outperformed a full plate set and provided easy access for the administration of first aid. Or maybe it was made like that to encourage the wearer to avoid attacks? It needed some kind of supplement like chain mail or under armor, at least then it could stop a fist. "No! That's stupid… What's a fist to a poisonous dagger?" she mused aloud.

"Good question."

"Right? Maybe I could wear something under—" Tsubaki gasped and spun toward her fellow adventurer, grimacing at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

They stood in the equipment shop of the Novis Orbis Librarium. Items were piled high in the back, quality and crude armor alike posted on the four walls. In the rear of the workshop the owner and his apprentice pounded away with their hammers. Ragna frequented this shop in particular because they did good work, but this might have been his first time seeing Tsubaki there. If he recalled correctly, she played the role of vanguard in her party. The equipment she donned for her class–her beloved sword, shield, and plate armor that obscured every inch of skin–rarely needed replacement. He'd brought Noel here a few days ago; maybe she told Tsubaki about the shop? Still, what did she need some skimpy armor like that for? "You plannin' on changing positions?" Ragna asked.

"Me? No, I was just… Um…" Ragna grew increasingly intrigued. The air of indifference and disdainful tone she adopted whenever he entered her presence (however minuscule the change was, Ragna had learned to pick up on it) was gone as she trailed off. "Honestly, seeing you makes me want to change to something more casual." Ragna didn't wear armor like most adventurers did (save Makoto and a few others she passed by on her way here); he wore an interestingly-designed yet straightforward red coat, black shirt, and hakama. "What are you doing here?" she repeated.

"Uh, I come here almost every day when I need to buy or fix something," he answered.

"What are you here for today?" Tsubaki pressed.

He gave her a suspicious look. "Why the hell are you so interested in my life all of a sudden? A few potions, coils, rope, oil, and antidotes."

"What kind of quest are you undertaking where you require all that?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"The dragon in Kagutsuchi needs to be slain."

"Tiamat?!" Tsubaki's eyes widened at both the nature of the quest and his casual tone.

"Apparently it's been stirring up trouble, and the volcano is gonna erupt if something isn't done. Nobody wants to take care of it, and anyone who could is out on other quests." Tsubaki heaved a sigh. Ragna didn't acknowledge it, more focused on the armor. It looked more like a two-piece underwear set, something Makoto would wear. "Didn't know you were into this kinda shit."

"I'm not! I just feel I should…" Tsubaki trailed off again. No one in their right mind would wear that armor on any adventure. Well, maybe someone extremely agile or rear units like mages or priests.

"It's not worth it."

"It's… being a female adventurer." Tsubaki tried to find a response to his objection. Her face matched her hair, and she couldn't look at him. She could barely form words, very unlike her. "There aren't… a lot of interesting guys out there, y-you know?"

Ragna smirked. "The uptight tank is man-hunting?"

Tsubaki took offense to that. "I'm still a woman! It's… only natural."

"Huh. That right?"

"Think about it." Tsubaki slouched with a heavy sigh, her voice defeated. "Male adventurers marry princesses or some girl they rescued… and what are female adventurers left with?"

"I… can't say." Ragna heard a story or two around the guilds every now and again. Most happened within storybooks: the knight slew the dragon, rescued the princess, and returned to the castle where he refused knighthood. He then lived happily ever after with his new lover and forged a new country with her. Ragna would suggest just getting together with a companion, but that usually ended in party dysfunction. It wasn't like he thought much of taking a lover, anyway.

"Plus, what kind of non-adventurer or knight wants to marry a woman who can wipe out a squadron in one blow? Men are far too prideful in their dominance…"

"More than you think." By this point Ragna had put the pieces together. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Never thought I'd see the day, heh. It's him, isn't it?"

"...Yes." Tsubaki knew who he meant by him. She answered with a slight nod, the picture of an innocent maiden.

"Aren't relationships between party members taboo?"

"T-there's an exception to every rule!"

"Oh there is now, huh?" Ragna thought to fill her friend Makoto in about this later, but he didn't hate her that much.

"It pains me to ask you this, but…" Tsubaki gulped, embarrassment flooding her visage again. "Do you think… he'll notice me if I wear this?"

Ragna stared wooden-faced at her. "If you want my honest opinion, I'd doubt the sanity of anyone who asks me about crap like that."

Tsubaki slumped in defeat. "I see…" She stared at the skimpy armor, completely at a loss. An impenetrable fortress in combat, she wasn't used to taking much damage much less a critical hit.

"But—"

"But?!" Tsubaki's eyes filled with light and her positive energy forced Ragna back a step.

"I… think you're overthinking this. If you want to earn that moron's attention, you need to change it up a bit. Try wearing some normal clothes since you're always wearing that stuffy armor."

Tsubaki blinked at the simplicity of the idea. She was never not wearing her armor or something of the like. To her knowledge, the only people who had seen her in anything akin to civilian clothes were Noel and Makoto. It just might work. "I'll… think about it."

"Take what I have to say with a grain of salt, though. I dunno what goes through that guy's head sometimes, and it's my job." Ragna shrugged.

"Still, I offer my deepest gratitude."

"You don't need to be so formal. We're a part of the same guild. Might not be buddies, but we're still colleagues."

"...You're a weirdo."

"And we're back to square one…"

Tsubaki couldn't stifle a giggle. "But I suppose you're right. Thank you, I'll give your idea a try." Tsubaki gave him a bright smile and waved as she walked out the store.

"Heh, I think she's warmin' up to ya, kid."

Ragna faced the owner of the gruff laughter, the shop master Jubei. He used to be known as the world's strongest. He earned that title back in his heyday when he took down a rampaging god. How long had he been eavesdropping? The old beastkin, shorter than a dwarf, came chuckling up to the counter. Ragna stuffed the previous exchange in the back of his mind and pitched his order. "I need a—"

"Didja forget how good us beastkin can hear? I heard what ya want, got it all prepared for ya. Kokonoe, bring 'em out!"

"Comin', comin'." Kokonoe, his apprentice and daughter, groaned while hefting his requested items. She placed everything on the counter with a clamor and wiped her dirty hands with a cloth she had in her back pocket.

"Thanks," Ragna said and inspected the tools. He didn't doubt the items at this workshop, all were quality, but some came from outside sources. One time, instead of healing his wounds, the potion he bought gave him in indigestion. Great for bathroom use, terrible when fighting the king of the demons. Now with everything ready, he stuffed the potions, antidotes and oil into a pouch on his waist and tucked the coil and rope under his arm.

"Someone's gotten popular." Kokonoe leaned over the counter with a sly grin as he fetched his wool-sack wallet. "I never thought I'd see the day. Ragna, the casanova."

"Shuddup…" Ragna placed five silver coins on the counter.

"That ain't nothin' to be embarrassed about son. About time ya got yerself a lady." Jubei counted the silver with his small paws and stowed them in his coat. The retired warrior smirked as if recalling an embarrassing memory from back in the day. "To be honest, when I first happened on ya, I never thought you'd stay. You've changed over the nineteen years I've known ya, y'know?"

"I have?"

"Yep."

"How?"

Kokonoe jumped in. "You're not as edgy as before."

His brow twitched. "You know I can kill you, right?" Ragna leaned over the counter to stare her dead in the eye.

Kokonoe retained her smirk and beamed at him. She leaned closer. "You can try. The idiots who walk in here are too damn weak, at least you won't break as easily as they do."

Ragna grinned. "You smell like shit."

Kokonoe pushed him and laughed. "Oh fuck you!"

Jubei's chuckle got their attention. "All right, settle down now, kids. Don'tcha gotta dragon to slay, son? Get yer ass home and get some shut-eye, yer sure gonna need it."

"Good call. I'll see you at six tomorrow." Ragna tossed them a wave and took his leave.

Jubei sighed at his stubborn daughter. "You coulda wished him good luck, at least."

Kokonoe shrugged and returned to the back. "Don't need to. He'll be back tomorrow morning to pick this up." She gave her masterpiece a prideful nod. The blade was undoubtedly one-of-a-kind, the design Ragna provided challenging to decipher, mostly because of his shitty artistic talent. "This should be battle-ready by tomorrow. I can ask him to bring me that dragon's tooth, finalize and strengthen the blade's metal. And I guess I can tell him not to take a skinny dip in lava," she said with a pained sigh.

"Haha! You take after yer mother, was never too upfront with her feelings. Always hid behind that hard-headed nature o' hers."

"Spill it already, dad, what the hell are you trying to say?"

"A whole lotta nothin, no worries. Just sayin' you should be more upfront." Jubei returned to the counter upon hearing the trinkets above the door jingle, missing his daughters blush but catching the way she muttered:

"It's not even like that…"


End file.
